And we’re in! The place isn’t exactly packed, but folks keep filing. Though, right now, I have an entire row to myself. Fingers crossed no one sits next to me. I need room to, you know, stretch out. The event starts at one o’clock which is in 15 minutes. That’s soon! We’ll be live blogging the presser once it starts.
I’ve touched down in Tokyo, but doors haven’t yet opened yet for Microsoft’s pre-TGS presser and people in suits mill about getting ready. They should be letting us in shortly. Well, letting us into a lobby, where we’ll wait until the event starts. Love waiting! Check back for our live on the ground coverage of the event.
TGS mania continues! Here, we’ve got Hudson’s list of its Tokyo Games Show games. Hooray! They are: Wii Deca Sporta
Nintendo DS Dungeon Explorer: Jashin no Ryouiki Elemental Monster Gachapin Nikki DS
PSP Dungeon Explorer: Meiyaku no Tobira
There is one more game that Hudson will announce at TGS. Bring on the new Bonk game. Make it happen, Hudson! Hudson List [Siliconera]
The TGS anticipation continues! Taito has released its list of games appearing at TGS. And amazingly (or not, depending on how you look at it) all titles are DS games. They include:
Cooking Mama 2 Arkanoid DS Exit DS Space Invaders Extreme
Sony released its TGS list of playable PS3 games. It’s sizeable — over forty titles. What sticks out? Q Entertainment will be showing an unannounced PS3 title. Could Q’s Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez, Space Channel 5) be showing off Rez 2 for the PSN? Besides that title, there are also 8 titles which have not been disclosed yet. Here’s a list of what we know:
The lay of the land. There are 217 companies appearing at this year’s Tokyo Game show. Here are the floor plans for the biggest ones. Above is 1Hall-3Hall. From top left going across, it includes: Square Enix, Microsoft, SoftBank Mobile and CoFesta Movie Square/TGS Cafe. Below that and moving across are Koei, Cykan Entertainment Co., Ltd., Level 5 and Capcom. Below Capcom and moving right is the Foreign Games Pavilion (go Western Australia!), Marvelous Entertainment, some small companies and SNK by the entrance. Hit the jump for a thrilling look at 4Hall-6Hall:
Do you have TGS fever yet? Square Enix does! The third party publisher unveiled its Tokyo Games Show line-up, which surprisingly includes both Final Fantasy *and* Dragon Quest games. Big news? DS remakes Final Fantasy IV and Dragon Quest IV will be playable, but DS sequel Dragon Quest IX won’t be. What’s more, Square Enix didn’t announce how FFXIII, FF Aigto XIII or FF Versus XIII are going to be shown. We’re pulling for shadow theatre! Here’s the full run-down, complete with details on how the games will be displayed:
Just because Microsoft doesn’t have the home field advantage doesn’t mean the company is going to sit on the TGS sidelines. Yes, the company will be announcing something. In an interview with Canada.com, lippy Microsoft exec Jeff Bell hints at what Microsoft will be showing at the Tokyo Games Show, namely Alan Wake, Fable 2 and Halo Wars. As well it should be! Those are all first party games, though. What about third part stuff? Bell stirs the hornet’s nest: Let’s be honest. There’s only two major franchises that are talked about not appearing on our platform: Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid.
So why not buy them? You’re Microsoft, you’re rich.
Besides a new Professor Layton game, Level5 also announced a soccer RPG calledd Inazuma Eleven. The game centres around a junior high school team that has gotten an exchange student from Australia. Original teams can be created and exchanged with friends via Wi-Fi. Players use the touch pen to draw lines for passing and tap the touch screen to shoot. There are a thousand-plus characters as well! The game features comical, unrealistic soccer moves like the “God Hand” in which a huge hand blocks the goal. The music is being done by Yasunori Mitsuda, who worked on Chrono Trigger before getting ulcers. While the release date hasn’t been announced, TGS attendees have an opportunity to snag a demo cartridge that not only features Inazuma Eleven but also an original mini story Professor Layton and the London Holiday. Called “Level5 Premium Silver,” expect this limited edition cart to be snapped up FAST! Level5′s Soccer Game [Famitsu]
ENOUGH WITH THE SHOWS. E3 ends, and shortly after that, there’s Leipzig. Just after that, there is PAX. Then? Then we’ve got the Tokyo Games Show. But between PAX and TGS, there’s GC Asia, which runs from September 6-9 in Singapore. Sony will be in appearance at GCA, showing off PS3 and PSP games, while Nintendo will be using the event to launch the Wii in the region (cue Wii Sports kiosks). Also, Electronic Arts will be showing off 15 titles, including Crysis, FIFA 08 and Rock Band. Expect appearances by Blizzard and Nokia NGage as well!
Seriously. Event organisers, spread this stuff out so we can actually cover it all without dying. This is getting RIDICULOUS. GC Asia Info [Games Industry]
